Abstract:
Teaching History is a scholarly, political and imaginative act that has ontological ramifications for generations of current and future students. Historians tend to be unassuming about the innovations in their classrooms. There is rarely any flag waving or backslapping; nor do they seek out media opportunities to publicise their work. Yet we know from research that the history teaching tertiary landscape is undergoing a dramatic pedagogical and epistemological expansion.
This presentation presents the findings of a longitudinal mixed methods study of the teaching of History in Australian universities. It will focus on the perceptions of evidence and the shifts in teaching practices that have occurred in recent decades. It also includes the latest findings of the expansion of the study to include the teaching of History in universities in the United Kingdom. In the first round of this new comparative research stage, the author has interviewed history teachers from two leading universities in Scotland.
The research concludes that the nexus between research and teaching is closely linked, controversial and generative. Students in undergraduate studies have direct access to the latest thinking in the field. In almost every interview to date historians have spoken about how they are asking new questions, applying new lenses to evidence and rethinking the social and political implications of their work. There is no better time to take up studying history at universities; the scholarly gate has been thrown open and the possibilities are boundless.
This presentation presents the findings of a longitudinal mixed methods study of the teaching of History in Australian universities. It will focus on the perceptions of evidence and the shifts in teaching practices that have occurred in recent decades. It also includes the latest findings of the expansion of the study to include the teaching of History in universities in the United Kingdom. In the first round of this new comparative research stage, the author has interviewed history teachers from two leading universities in Scotland.
The research concludes that the nexus between research and teaching is closely linked, controversial and generative. Students in undergraduate studies have direct access to the latest thinking in the field. In almost every interview to date historians have spoken about how they are asking new questions, applying new lenses to evidence and rethinking the social and political implications of their work. There is no better time to take up studying history at universities; the scholarly gate has been thrown open and the possibilities are boundless.